They’d scented fresh blood.

And in the deathly silence of twilight as dusk fell over the moonlit plain, I could hear them coming for me.

A million manic mosquitoes, and I couldn’t move a muscle.

Actually, that’s a lie.

I COULD move – but I’d chosen not to. For 3 good reasons.

Firstly, listening for the call of the enigmatic Plains Wanderer – Australia’s first and world’s fourth most important endangered bird species according to the Zoological Society of London – required absolute stillness and quiet.

I was standing on the Hay Plain – flattest place in OZ, 200 km deep, 300 km wide AND with spring grasses as high as a Plains-Wanderer’s eye.

2 words. Needle. Haystack.

If we didn’t hear one, we’d never know where to start looking.

Secondly, the Plains Wanderer Weekend tours near Deniliquin in rural New South Wales @ $300+ per head were only run a few times each year. And often booked out months, sometimes years in advance.

This might be our only chance to see one – and the only chance for other birdos* on the tour, some from overseas.

Thirdly, in our tour group of 8, I was the only non-birdo. NO WAY was I going to be that person who spooked the Plains Wanderer and blew the REAL birdos chances of seeing it.

Even if that meant staying completely motionless and letting the mozzies** suck out every drop of my blood in a zombie-apocalypse-meets-mosquito-massacre until the dried out husk of my body fell soundlessly to the soil.

So, resisting the urge to slap the little suckers silly, I stayed stock still (in alliterative admiration).

But all I could hear was the frenzied whining of a million*** mini dentist drills. And all I could see were mosquito trails across the sunset as the swarm moved in for the kill.

If the Plains Wanderers were out there, they were lying doggo****.

Unlike the mozzies now covering the back of Pilchard’s hat.

Turns out in the absence of fresh blood, the mosquitoes make do with whatever they could find!

My descent into mosquito hell had started over 12 hours before at 6 am. We’d joined six other tour participants and two guides for a full-on tour of Deni***** birding hot spots, starting with the River Walk.

Or would have but for the simultaneous opening all 13 Hume Dam overflow gates resulting – unsurprisingly – in flooding.  The waters rose so rapidly the Edward River was already lapping at the levee banks when we’d arrived in Deni a couple of days before.

Ground-breaking water management technique – or simple cause and effect equation? YOU decide!

Weirdly, the swift and silent river flowing a few metres away didn’t bother us, even when the water level rose higher than our campsite at the excellent Deniliquin Riverside Caravan Park. But the flooding can’t have been much fun for Deni locals as roads, campgrounds, holiday shacks and the sports ground all went under.

But any photographer with a thing for reflections knows what to do when the water’s running high.

AND any birdo worth their binoculars knows that waterbirds LOVE ‘wetlands’, even if everyone else calls them ‘swamps’.

The lingo is just one of several ways birding pretenders like me can distinguish REAL birdos from everyone else.

There’s the obvious ones like surgically attached binoculars and a general inability to maintain a conversation when a bird – ANY (feathered) bird – comes into view.  Then there’s the dark side – like arguments about features and id, and the fact it’s just NOT POSSIBLE for a non-birder to see a rare or unusual bird BEFORE the real birder.

I thought I’d seen a Plains Wanderer once before on a remote Queensland roadside.

The bird was in the EXACT SAME pose as the picture of the Plains Wanderer in the bird book. Pilchard didn’t see it, but was able to state with absolute certainty it WAS NOT a Plains Wanderer. It probably wasn’t, but that confident non-id became a bit of a thing.

A higher level bit of a thing happened when we stayed at a birding reserve with a birding tour led by a well known university (read: mega-important) birder.

During the evening bird report (yes, people really DO spend the evening listing birds they’ve seen for fun), Pilchard called a not-so-common bird, listing several reasons to nail the id.

Big Birdo (as I dubbed him) loudly disagreed.

The bird had NEVER been seen in this spot.

Then another birder confirmed the sighting.

Big Birdo shook his head again. Not possible.  He’d been coming to this site for 10 years and had NEVER seen it, although he couldn’t come up with an alternative id.  Apparently, if the bird was going to show itself to anyone, it’d be Big Birdo as he had seniority.

Who says birding isn’t a contact sport?!

But I digress.

Luckily, the Plains Wanderer weekend tour wasn’t besieged by Big Birdo’s Buddies – just as well given Pilchard and I shared a car with 2 other birders and a guide for the 1½ days and 123 bird species we saw on the tour.   (Of course you will immediately recognise the Dollar Bird in the middle photo, haha)(yes, it’s the blob on the branch)(no, I’m not a bird photographer either).

But everyone was waiting for evening and the main event – hunting the wild Plains Wanderer. I managed to get a few sunset shots in between bird sightings, but as night fell, the mosquito massacre began in earnest.

Unless (unlike us) you’re very lucky, finding a Plains Wanderer requires patience and stamina. They’re (apparently) curious and if disturbed, they’ll (supposedly) stick their heads up to see what’s happening. In reality, a smallish bird – max height 19 cm (7½ inches) – sticking its head out above grass level at the  exact right moment on a plain bigger than Denmark has lower odds than winning the lottery.

My personal theory, based on the number of Plains Wanderers we didn’t see, is that they’re sitting pretty hoping like hell the big SUVs with bright lights driving slowly in circles will just go away. But what would I know. I’m SO not a twitcher******!

Happily, I don’t get car sick. But after several hours my face was freezing cold, my hands numb from mozzie bites and I was brain dead from peering out the window into the semi-darkness. I might not be a real birdo, but I wasn’t going to be the one who wasn’t looking at the critical moment.

I don’t recall who finally won ‘Twitcher of the Tour’ for first Plains Wanderer sighting at around midnight, except that it wasn’t me. But I got to see it all the same.

I stayed out of the post-sighting phone call frenzy – I just didn’t know anyone who’d be thrilled to hear about my rare bird sightings at 12 am. Perhaps I move in the wrong circles.

At around 1:00 am, 19 hours after Day 1 started, we returned to the caravan park, re-convening at 8:30 am after an all-too-short sleep break for the final half-day. Despite some interesting sightings and more mosquito hell at the ‘wetland’, nothing compared with the previous night’s thrill of seeing the rare Plains Wanderer, a true Aussie Oddity and the only representative of its family and genus.

Even for this non-birder, the Plains Wanderer Weekend tour was a BIG success. I survived the mosquitoes. I’ve been to birding hot spots not open to the public. I’ve got rare photos of the floodwaters – happily on the right side of the levee banks – some complete with scenic loos. I didn’t blow my non-birdo cover.

And I now know for sure I really HAVE seen the elusive Plains Wanderer!

Fast Facts:

Where: Deniliquin, generally on the banks of the Edward River and not in it, is 77 km north of Echuca/Moama on the NSW/Victoria border. It’s 725 kilometres (450 miles) south west of Sydney and 285 kilometres (177 miles) north of Melbourne.

What: The Plains Wanderer Weekend Tour is run by Philip and Patricia Maher of Australian Ornithological Services.  In addition to looking for the Plains Wanderer, tours cover birding sites in and around Deniliquin, including some places and habitats not open to the general public.

When: Tours are generally conducted during spring (Sept-Nov in Australia). Check the website below for tour dates and booking instructions.

Want MORE?

• Deniliquin, New South Wales
• Australian Ornithological Services (Plains Wanderer and many other Birding Tours)
• Plains Wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus)
• Deniliquin Riverside Caravan Park
• MORE Phots of Deniliquin on Flickr
• MORE Red Nomad OZ Birding Adventures

* Birdo = Birdwatcher

** Mozzies = Mosquitoes

*** Exaggerating? Well … YOU count them!

**** Lying Doggo = keeping out of sight

***** Deni = Deniliquin! But you knew that, right?!

****** Twitcher = Obsessive Birdo

The post Hunting the Wild Plains Wanderer – Deniliquin, New South Wales appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Our Corner Country Adventure Begins!

Taking a road trip to ANY hottest place anywhere just SO isn’t on my travel bucket list.

But Tibooburra, aka the hottest place in New South Wales, was closest town to the ONLY place in the world where I could stand in three Australian states – South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales – all at the same time!**

Anyway, it was winter – or what passes for winter downunder – so the heat thing wouldn’t be a problem. We’d leave the camper trailer behind while we sussed out the rugged roads. And I was getting itchy feet after being home for a couple of months. So what the heck.

‘Let’s go,’ I told Pilchard.

Just as well.

Or I’d have missed out BIG time …

… On the thrill of having a tyre gutted by a totally new and unexpected object. On being marooned in the Outback. And on standing in 3 States all at once!!

Yes, I have a low amusement threshhold. AND I’m getting ahead of myself …

Chances are, anyone heading north on the Silver City Highway from Broken Hill en route to Innamincka, Birdsville, Coopers Creek or the Diamantina chances has passed through, or even stayed overnight in Tibooburra.

But was Tibooburra a road-trip destination in itself?

We had a week to spare, and were about to discover exactly what to see and do in Corner Country – the remote and rugged north-west corner of New South Wales!

Broken Hill to Tibooburra: Getting There is half the FUN!

Heading north after leaving Broken Hill – aka the Silver City – the road to Tibooburra – aka the Silver City Highway – winds through the Barrier Ranges, including 30+ km of extensive roadworks* just out of Broken Hill where bitumen was being laid. Until you pass through Fowlers Gap and suddenly it doesn’t.

It’s a great place to play ‘spot the emu’.

Half-way is the Packsaddle Roadhouse, with the only fuel, food and accommodation en route – perfect for travellers stranded by road closures after heavy rain. Over lunch and a trip to the Scenic Loo, we watched the Packsaddle Cat score his (or maybe her) body weight in table scraps by shameless begging in the outdoor dining area.

About 50 km further north we stopped to watch the wildlife on Cobham Lake, an Outback oasis overlooked by the lonely grave of an Eliza Kennedy with an odd epitaph ‘For charity covereth a multitude of sins’.

If we’d brought the camper trailer, this spot would have been the end of the journey for the day because camping on the shores of the lake would’ve been AMAZING!

Between Packsaddle and Tibooburra, the stretches of gravel road became longer and more frequent. You’d have to be MAD to road-trip these roads without investing in some kind of roadside automobile assistance! IMHO!!

300 km (180 miles) and 4 hours after leaving Broken Hill, we arrived in Tibooburra.

And how it got its name from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘heap of rocks’ or why it was once known as ‘The Granites’ really ISN’T one of life’s great mysteries!

A Ghost Town, A Glen and a Gutful of Gibbers!

For an almost-ghost-town, there’s a lot going on in Milparinka with its historic working pub and heritage precinct just 40 km (24 miles) from Tibooburra.

Cars came and went on the dirt tracks, aka ‘roads’. The family running the historic Albert Hotel served coffee, drinks and meals. And the volunteers who keep Milparinka’s restored buildings, museums and open air displays open from March to October dispensed information, advice and directions.

This, a campground, and best of all – a scenic public loo – are what’s left of Milparinka after the Albert Goldfields’ gold ran out back during the Depression. There wasn’t enough remaining business to support both towns, so although Milparinka had the water, Tibooburra got the trade.

From Milparinka, we headed north-west over a bizarre moonscape of albino gibbers, a fancy name for the milky quartz rocks all over the ground and the closest we’d get to seeing snow in this Aussie winter! Following the banks of Preservation Creek shaded by massive River Red Gums we finally came to Depot Glen, a string of the only permanent waterholes in the district.

Famous Aussie explorer Captain Charles Sturt, on an expedition hoping to discover the mythical waterways of Central Australia, waited out a dry spell here, from January, hottest time of the year, to June when rains finally fell.

So confident were they of finding an inland sea, they’d brought a boat and a couple of sailors across the same arid Outback country we’d followed since leaving Broken Hill. Instead of the waterways they expected, the men spent 6 months stranded by drought building a cairn of rocks several kilometres away on Mt Poole, named for the only expedition member to die at Depot Glen.

Too gutless to attack the pile of ankle-turning gibbers aka Mt Poole, we didn’t reach the summit. But we climbed high enough to look out over the unforgiving, relentlessly gibber-laden plains stretching to the horizon, and imagine the hardships suffered by this lonely band.

Marooned! In more ways than one …

Marooned #1: 4 mm (0.015 inches) of rain isn’t all that much, really. But after a wet winter, this overnight downpour was enough to officially close ALL roads entering and leaving Tibooburra.

Marooned #2: We couldn’t have taken a drive anyway. After a day following the explorers along rough, rugged gibber trails we had a flat! We’d never been brought to a standstill by a small piece of bone before – but it’s apparently the most common cause of flat tyres in these parts.

That left us with only one option that day – exploring Tibooburra on foot!

10 Things to Do in Tibooburra

Whether it’s rain, a piece of bone or something else making you take a Tibooburra break, there’s a lot to see and do in and a short distance around the township.

Here’s a few suggestions:

1. Take a walk … locals say the best time to go prospecting for gold in the main street is after rain!
2. Grab a brochure about Tibooburra and take the Tibooburra Heritage Walk
3. Go to the National Parks & Wildlife Visitor Centre for information about the area, maps and track notes for Sturt National Park
4. See relics from the past at the Courthouse Museum
5. Check out a replica of Sturt’s boat and other historic memorabilia at Pioneer Park
6. Explore the Granite Rock piles behind the caravan park. And everywhere else!
7. Drive – or walk – to Sunset Hill Lookout for great views across the town and surrounds
8. Take a short drive out to Golden Gully for gold mining heritage memorabilia
9. Go hunting for South Australia’s floral emblem, the Sturt’s Desert Pea! We found some behind TJ’s roadhouse growing in the gravel
10. If all else fails, visit the pubs! But not just for a drink – the Two Storey has murals by famous Aussie artists, including Clifton Pugh!

Sturt National Park

Wild, remote and rugged, Sturt National Park is 340,000 hectares of sandhills; gibber plains; jump-ups and mesas; flood plains; gorges; creeks; and what remains of some of the pastoral properties in the area.

The Silver City Highway runs right through the park but drive the loop trails just out of Tibooburra for the best bits. Explore the old pastoral properties, look out over the flood plains and climb Mt Wood (4 km return) on the 100 km (~60 mile) Gorge Loop Trail. Or drive through a spectacular eroded landscape with a magnificent lookout, or walk to the Jump-ups (3.5 km return) on the Jump–up Loop Trail.

Or if you’re in a 4WD, take the imaginatively named Middle Road through the varied landscape in the middle of the park – an alternative route to Cameron Corner.

Remember those interpretive brochures you picked up from the National Parks office in Tibooburra? This is where they’ll come in VERY handy!

And check the road conditions before you leave.

Three States, One HOT Place: Cameron Corner

‘Where’s the road?’ Pilchard shouted as we followed the track down an incline and onto a sea of red clay. Half way to Cameron Corner, it could’ve been a nasty Marooned #3 if the Waka Claypan had still been a clay-slick after the rain!

Luckily, a couple of days of fine, warm weather had dried out the road, and 140 km (84 miles) west of Tibooburra the friendly staff at the iconic Cameron Corner Roadhouse efficiently dealt with a steady stream of road-trippers looking for photos, souvenirs, drinks, meals and fuel.

It’s hungry work standing in 3 states at once

If we’d had the camper trailer, we SO would have stayed in the Cameron Corner Campground for a round of golf on the nine hole Tri-State golf course – with three holes in each of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.

And if we’d had the camper trailer, we’d have headed to Queensland or South Australia instead of back through the dingo fence into New South Wales where we took the Middle Road back to Tibooburra through Sturt National Park.

But, for now, we’d answered that all-important question. Yes, Tibooburra IS a worthy destination in its own right!!

The next day we headed back down the Silver City Highway to Broken Hill.

And not a moment too soon.

Because that night 56 mm (2.2 inches) of rain fell in Tibooburra!

Even if you’re just passing through Tibooburra to Queensland, South Australia or other parts of New South Wales, why not make some of these Corner Country attractions and drives part of your road trip? Or tie your trip in with an event like the Packsaddle Gymkhana, the Tibooburra Festival, the Milparinka Gymkhana and the Tibooburra Rodeo for an even more awesome Outback experience!

Fast Facts:

WHERE:

• Tibooburra is 330 km north of Broken Hill on the Silver City Highway.
• Milparinka is 40 km south of Tibooburra.
• Cameron Corner is 140 km north-west of Tibooburra.

PLEASE CHECK ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL!

STAY:

• Tibooburra has Hotels, Motels, a Caravan Park and campgrounds around the town.
• Sturt National Park has several campgrounds.
• Milparinka has a campground and accommodation at the Albert Hotel.
• Cameron Corner has a campground and accommodation.

We stayed at the Granites Motel & Caravan Park in Tibooburra.

EAT:

• TJs Roadhouse and the Corner Country Store have meals and takeaway.
• The Family Hotel and Two Storey Hotel have meals.

Want MORE?

• Outback New South Wales
• Sturt National Park
• More Photos on Flickr

* On our trip in August 2016. Check road conditions before you leave.

** Poeppels Corner,  where Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory meet is 2 States + 1 Territory!

The post Explore Corner Country! Tibooburra, Milparinka and Cameron Corner, New South Wales appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

There’s no shame in taking the easy option. Is there?

That’s what I kept telling myself on the Bald Rock climb, anyway.

It’d been too long since I clocked up an Australian exclusive, so climbing Bald Rock, largest exposed granite rock in the Southern Hemisphere and centrepiece of the boulder-studded Granite Country around Tenterfield, was a no-brainer.

Choosing the easier of the two Bald Rock walking tracks was also a no-brainer – for an acrophobic*, that is! At 2.5 km (one way) the Bungoona trail was the longer of the two.  But with its medium degree of difficulty rating, interpretive signs and path through a good cross-section of granite country had a nice, gentle, safe sound to it.

Rock Face, on the other hand, didn’t!

I could cope with ‘spectacular scenery’. I could cope with ‘short’. I could even cope with ‘steep’. But I couldn’t cope with ‘exposed’!

If you’ve never suffered from vertigo, fear of falling or just plain old gutlessness**, you’ll have NO IDEA what I’m talking about. If that’s you, then you might as well knock yourself out and do the Bald Rock climb on the Rock Face track.  Then brag about it on YOUR blog. Thank you for reading this far, you are now free to go.

Of course I didn’t out myself as a gutless wonder*** to Pilchard.!

‘Let’s take the longer track through the woodlands on the way up,’ I casually suggested as if I’d actually considered the Rock Face option for more than a fleeting nanosecond. ‘That way we’ll get to see more birds****,’ I added in a masterful blend of reverse psychology, low cunning and staggering genius.

So we took the LONG track (yes, my dodgy plan really worked!) as it gently wound up through the open eucalypt country on the lower slopes of Bald Rock.  It went in and around the series of boulders and tunnels that make up the Granite Titans, and up along a number of rocky ledges into the open.

My gaze flickered over the sloping rock looking for the edge. There wasn’t one.

But then I saw the track markers marching down the slope to where the Rock Face track plunged over the side of the massive granite incline into oblivion.

I didn’t care which descent route Pilchard took, but I didn’t need a crystal ball to see 2.5 km of back-tracking in MY future!

But I put that problem on the back burner. For now, I could see the summit across a rocky expanse, cracks filled with vegetation, and extraordinarily vibrant colours flowing down the rock into the valley below.

Way WAAAAAY below!

Rising 200 metres (666 feet) above the surrounding plain, Bald Rock is part of a volcanic extrusion of the New England underlying Batholith. At least that’s what I’d say if I was a geologist or a show-off, but it’s easier just just describe it as a gigantic hunk of granite.

But not just any old granite – this is Stanthorpe adamellite! Which is (of course) distinguished from ordinary granite by the presence of pink orthoclase feldspar, white plagioclase feldspar, black biotite mica and clear quartz in the rock.

Or so I was reliably informed by one of the several interpretive signs along the way. It’s only a short stroll to the summit from where the Rock Face track joins the main trail. The staggering 360° view over Bald Rock National Park extends across the border into Queensland.  It even takes in the adjoining Girraween National Park – an excursion for another day.

The summit is the best place to see the massive monolith.  At 750 metres long and 500 wide there’s nowhere on the plain to appreciate its gargantuan proportions. As well as the smaller boulders, vegetation, seasonal wildflowers and texture of the rock.

Yes, it’s the Bald AND the Beautiful

And as I gazed over the amazing scenery I figured it didn’t matter which of the Bald rock walking tracks I’d taken to get to the top.  The view from the summit was the same either way.

Bald Rock Fast Facts:

Size: 750 m long; 500 m wide; 200 m high (measured from the surrounding plain)

Where is Bald Rock: 34 km from Tenterfield – 29 km on the fully sealed Mt Lindesay Highway then 5 km on the park access road.

Where is Tenterfield: 270 km S of Brisbane; 770 km N of Sydney; 160 km W of Lismore; 160 km NE of Inverell.

When to Visit: Bald Rock National Park is accessible all year round

What to do: Several Bald Rock Walking Tracks including 2 summit trails – Bungoona (3.2 km one way) and Rockface; Bald Rock Picnic and Camping Area with Barbecue facilities

Cost: $7 entry fee per car per day; Camping Fees: $10 per adult/$5 per child + $7 Entry fee per day (as at September 2015)

Want MORE?

• Bald Rock National Park and Bald Rock Climb
• Tenterfield, New South Wales
• Bald Rock – one of 12 Aussie Rock HOT Spots!
• MORE Bald Rock Photos on Flickr

* Acrophobia = Fear of Heights

** Gutlessness = Cowardice

*** Gutless Wonder = Coward

**** The feathered variety, to which Pilchard is devoted!

The post Climb Bald Rock – Australia’s BIGGEST Granite Monolith! via Tenterfield, NSW appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

As if to make up for being half an hour late, our baggage emerged almost immediately after we disembarked at Sydney’s domestic terminal.

I’d been SO looking forward to this long layover because nothing does it for me quite like sitting in a large airport with nothing particular to do, nowhere particular to go and no chance of transferring to an earlier flight.

But my fantasies of spending the 4½ hours between flights sampling the delights of the airport terminal were about to be cruelly dashed.

‘Why don’t we catch the Airport Link train to Circular Quay?’ Pilchard asked.

What? Was he seriously suggesting we leave the exhilarating architecture, stimulating entertainment, complexion-friendly air-conditioning and gourmet treats of the airport terminal behind for the – gulp – unknowns of the REAL world??

The bonus of flying the 2nd leg of our journey with Qantas meant we could check in our baggage up to 6 hours before the flight. So faster than you could say ‘bag drop’, we were buying tickets at the Airport Link railway terminal 2 levels below.

5 minutes waiting for the train, then 6 stations and around 20 minutes later we emerged from the railway tunnels into a warm, sticky and unmistakably Sydney day at Circular Quay. Correctly referred to by pedants as Semi-Circular Quay, its original name and a far more accurate description!

But if we’d had ANY doubt about where we were, THIS gave it away.

So, instead of the thrill of watching airline passengers scrabbling for luggage at the carousels and their pointless rush to be first to board the plane we instead watched a line of thrill seekers, small as ants getting up close and personal with the Coathanger as they crawled up the massive span of THAT bridge bi-secting the harbour far, FAR – actually 141 metres – below!

Pilchard vowed to join them one day. I vowed that on that same day I’d be his official photographer.

From below.

From our vantage point under the shade of Jørn Utzon’s world-famous shells (or sails, depending on your point of view), the light reflecting from the 1,000,000+ Swedish glazed white granite tiles with which they’re covered, we watched the endless stream of boats, yachts and ferries miraculously avoiding collisions as they criss-crossed Farm Cove and the harbour beyond, before sailing under the bridge or into the quay.

Colour, life and movement flowed in all directions – the bright RED of the Royal Botanic Gardens tourist train skirting the green lawns sweeping down to the blue-green waters of the harbour; the mirrored windows of skyscrapers behind the Quay reflecting the scenes below; the massive bulk of a cruise ship against the stonework of the buildings behind; the constant stream of what would be 150,000 vehicles crossing the bridge that day below the climbers above the gray steel struts supporting the bridge’s 503 metre (1650 feet) long arch; the multicoloured ferries coming and going at the Quay; and the multitude of people – sightseers, school students, workers, joggers, backpackers, staff – thronging about the attractions.

Making do with lunch – platter of fresh fruit (chocolate dipping sauce on the side) and glass of bubbles for me; toasted sandwich and REAL chocolate milkshake for Pilchard – from harbourside eatery the Guylian Cafe, we sat overlooking the fabulousness of Sydney Harbour.

A billion dollar view that cost us only $55 (1 x Adult Return Fare @ $34; 1 x Senior Return Fare @ $21) + lunch.

And although our wait time at the airport included a sighting of the rare Lavatory Truck (above and below), somehow its attractions just couldn’t compete with that AMAZING harbour. Our micro-tour of Sydney was SO cool, we’d actually consider planning an even longer layover next time!

But for now, we had a plane to catch!

We spent about 2½ hours travelling to and from the airport to Circular Quay, walking around the Harbour Precinct, dining harbour-side at the Guylian Cafe and admiring the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It beat the hell out of hanging around the airport for that same length of time!

Like the idea, but want to try something different?

• For Parks and Gardens, alight at Museum or St James stations for Hyde Park and the Domain; or Circular Quay for the Royal Botanic Gardens
• For Museums and Art Galleries, alight at Circular Quay for the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rocks Discovery Museum; or Museum station for the Australian Museum;
• For Shopping, alight at Town Hall for the Queen Victoria Building, the Strand Arcade and Sydney Central Plaza;
• For other attractions (and a longer trip) alight at Circular Quay and take a ferry to Taronga Park Zoo, Manly or Darling Harbour
• For Sydney Harbour up close, take some extra time and Hire a Boat – or even a luxury yacht – and explore the harbour at your own pace!

There are MANY other attractions – see below – and if your layover isn’t long enough to see them all, why not consider extending your stay?!

Get started by checking out some cheap flights – but don’t make that layover too short!

Fast Facts:

• Airport Link connects Sydney’s International and Domestic Airport Terminals with the rest of the city via rail.
• Airport Link trains leave every few minutes at most times.  Check Timetables HERE
• Most Central City locations can be reached in under 30 minutes. Check Trip Times HERE
• A return rail ticket to Circular Quay costs $34.00 (adult) or $21.00 (senior) and includes an airport access fee (as at 11 March 2015 when we travelled). Check Fares HERE
• Harbour Cruises and Ferries to various waterfront destinations depart from Circular Quay. Check Ferry Details HERE and Harbour Cruises HERE

The post See Sydney in 4 hours between flights! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Australia aggressively markets itself as all sunshine, surf and sand; red rocks, red dust and reefs.  But a visit to the Border Ranges National Park will show another side.

Ancient sub-tropical rainforests of Gondwana clothe the sheer cliffs formed by the eroded caldera of what’s left of a massive shield volcano. They’re so unlike anything else you’ll see downunder they’ve been World Heritage listed.

On my first and only other visit to the Border Ranges National Park I could hardly walk thanks to a strenuous 9 km return hike the day before up Mt Warning – the volcanic plug in the middle of the Tweed Volcano, and first place to see the sun on mainland Australia.

Other than a relentless climb, the walk was straightforward – until I got to the last 400m or so straight up the almost bare rock of the volcanic plug that forms the 1157 metre high summit!

Although the real leg damage was done coming back down.

That’s where I developed my revolutionary mountain-descent technique.  It’s a cunning combination of a death-grip on the chains that marked the track, and sliding down on the seat of my pants.

I dare you to try it sometime!

But it meant that the next day in the Border Ranges National Park, I only saw those attractions within easy walking distance from the car park areas.

Now, nearly 20 years later, and with no major hikes under my belt from the day before, it was finally time to explore the park a little more thoroughly.

We’d already entered a more remote section of the park and walked the Border Loop trail (see below) on one of Australia’s quirkiest road trips – the Lions Road – that cuts through the range to Queensland. But today, we were headed for the the main section of the Border Ranges National Park.

On our first trip, we’d taken the Murwillumbah-Kyogle road from Murwillumbah for about 38 km to the southern entrance. This time, we were staying at Kyogle so we approached the southern entrance from the other direction.  We planned to drive through the park, exit via the western entrance, and return to Kyogle the back way.

We’d woken up to a killer frost in Kyogle that morning.  But the fine winter’s day meant the dirt roads throughout the park were easily navigable and the walking tracks weren’t muddy! And yes, that IS noteworthy in case you’re wondering.

Can you guess why it’s called RAINforest?

While the park isn’t far from either Kyogle or Murwillumbah, it’s too far to backtrack for lunch. Stocking up with enough provisions to affect our fuel economy is easy when the awesome Kyogle bakery is near the Kyogle Caravan Park!

It’s amazing how much bakery food you can eat in just one day, isn’t it? Or is that just us?!?!?!

A few kilometres from the park entrance was the Bar Mountain picnic area and our first walk of the day. The Falcorostrum Loop – named for a rainforest orchid variety – winds through a large stand of Antarctic Beeches.

But who cares about an old tree (or two) when there’s the shy Alberts Lyrebird watching from behind the ferns? Not Pilchard!!

The staggering scenery from the three lookouts on the edge of the escarpment are pretty impressive.  That’s if the 1000m drop down to the Tweed Valley below doesn’t scare you rigid. I didn’t need any signs warning me not to stray off the paths. Even if I wasn’t the world’s biggest coward there’s NO WAY I’d go near the edge without a railing between me and the drop off!

The Pinnacle Lookout is the centrepiece of the staggering scenery with a dramatic and far ranging view down to Mount Warning and the Tweed Valley.

I chose to see the blue haze caused by smoke from a controlled burn in the distance as ‘atmospheric’ rather than ‘annoying’.

It did give my photos a certain ambience, don’t you think?!

After the lookouts, a one-way road loop descends into the Brindle Creek Valley. In the valley is the Helmholtsia Loop walk, named for a stream lily endemic to the region.  Just hope like hell that everyone else on the road a) reads the signs and b) follows them!

This is World Heritage rainforest at its best.  Even if it’s dark and damp under the canopy in a way that sunny South Australia with its wide open spaces isn’t.

We didn’t get to see the view from the Tweed Valley Lookout at the end of the road loop. There was no warning on the narrow road and only a one-car parking bay that we didn’t see until we’d gone past.

And yes, although it’s a narrow, winding, one-way dirt road, we could have just backed up.  But that would’ve been WRONG! Never mind … the view from the road was pretty stunning.

Although it was only mid-afternoon, the shadows were already long and the valleys dark.  The Sheepstation Creek camping area at the park’s western entrance was filling up.

The Palm Forest Walk winds down the – yes, you guessed right – Sheepstation Creek gully.  The trail winds amidst – yes, you guessed right – Palm Trees!  It leads to Brushbox Falls following an old logging road with names and dates from people and times long past carved into the rocky walls.

At what point does graffiti become historic art, anyway?!?!

Once we’d returned to the campground, the smoke from the just-lit campfires was giving pyromaniac Pilchard a little buzz.  But sadly, it was time to leave via the park’s western entrance. As we drove through more spectacular scenery outside the park boundary along the Lynches Creek Road to Wiangaree, then back to Kyogle the sun was setting behind the mountains.

The evening winter cold was setting in too – it would be another frosty night.

Driving to and from the park, sightseeing, hiking several of the shorter loop trails and vantage points AND eating the massive stash of Kyogle bakery provisions was a full day job. To hike any of the longer trails – ranging from 3.5 to 10.5 km – staying at either Sheepstation Creek or Forest Tops campground would have been a better option.

But I’ll save that for my third visit!

Want MORE?

• Border Ranges National Park

• Mount Warning (Wollumbin) National Park
• The Lions Road
• Kyogle, New South Wales
• More Border Ranges National Park Photos on Flickr

The post A Day in the Border Ranges National Park appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

‘The current’s running like a cut cat round the island,’ Jack shouted. He fired up Noctiluca‘s powerful 200 horse power engines and guided the eight-metre vessel into the bay.

Boat Tour to Ball’s Pyramid

If not for the camera in one hand and a convenient strut for balance in another, I’d have high-fived Pilchard. On our first trip three years ago, our tour had been cancelled due to bad weather. Two days ago, bad weather struck again.

But the third time was the charm, and we were finally en route to Balls Pyramid.  At 552 metres (1811 feet) in altitude it’s the highest volcanic rock stack in the WORLD!

It was going to be a bumpy ride.

That’s because the 23 km (14.2 miles) trip to the distinctive hunk of rock that is Balls Pyramid crosses a deep water trench. But the rare combination of open ocean and land makes the Pyramid a unique crossover habitat.  And that made it perfect for bird-watching and diving!

But first we had to get round the island.

As we rounded the northern cape with sheer cliffs plunging into the tossing seas, my psychic powers told me we’d entered the less protected waters. That and the wild westerly wind, rough, choppy seas. And the current which was indeed running like a cut cat as we headed for the islands.

Lurching and heaving in the boiling blue waters swirling round the rocks, we edged closer and closer to the cliffs.  We spotted a cloud of Grey Ternlets,birding lifer #1 for the trip, with five more to come before the tour was over. As all cameras except mine clicked wildly around me, I was in serious danger of being knocked overboard by thousands of dollars worth of giant lenses swinging wildly in the heaving waters.

What a way to go!

But as the spray rained down on all that expensive camera equipment, I caught my first sea-level glimpse of Balls Pyramid, visible from only a few places on Lord Howe Island.

An Extraordinary Tour Guide

Tour guide and skipper Jack Shick, a 5^th generation Lord-Howe-Islander and co-owner of Sea to Summit Expeditions, has all the island’s bases covered. When he’s not running fishing charters and Balls Pyramid tours, he’s guiding climbers up the 875 metre (2871 feet) high Mt Gower. Round the more rugged, eastern side of the island the view of the long, exposed ridge, last leg of the strenuous14 km hike that led to its summit gave me the cold shivers. Jack’s climb with his father at 8 years of age was the first of 1700+, the most ascents made by anyone ever.

All that despite being around my age!

Bird Life on the Open Sea

I resolutely put the thousands of metres of water between me and the bottom of the trench out of my mind as we entered the open sea. I braced myself against the side of the boat and tried desperately to keep the horizon level for yet another shot of Balls Pyramid.

We’d entered the ocean-going bird zone and the Flesh-footed Shearwaters wheeled and dived in a feeding frenzy. Can you guess why they’re also called ‘Muttonbirds’?  A flock of White Bellied Storm Petrels, world’s smallest seabird, fluttered around us their long, trailing legs looking like they were dancing on the waves. And a lone South Polar Skua on a rare excursion this far north cast a giant shadow on the deck as all cameras but mine clicked furiously.

Ball’s Pyramid

Balls Pyramid is impressive from wherever you view it.

But nothing had prepared me for the reality of the Pyramid with its massive, bare basalt peaks rising straight up out of the ocean, the intriguingly coloured rock towering high above our tiny boat.

Wild, wet and windswept, the heavy seas crashed around the rocky reefs at the Pyramid’s inhospitable 1100 x 400 metre base as Masked Boobies soared around the peaks.

Climbing Ball’s Pyramid

The first successful ascent was by Bryden Allen and party in 1965.  This followed an unsuccessful attempt the year before by a party including legendary explorer and entrepreneur Dick Smith.  In 1979, Dick Smith returned to the pyramid. With fellow climber John Worrall completed the ascent where he then claimed Balls Pyramid for Australia!

Me? AAAAARRRRGGGGH! Not ever, no way!

A Rare Creature

Inhospitable though the Pyramid may be, a remnant population of the endemic Lord Howe Island Phasmid was discovered here many years after it had been given up as extinct on the island. It’s the only known colony in the world.

As we chugged around the Pyramid, I was awestruck by the ever-changing vistas of its stupendous bulk. Colours and patterns swirled through its jagged peaks and sheer cliff faces, with massive cracks criss-crossing the rocky layers and perpendicular walls. I finally started snapping away.  Pilchard was horrified when he realised I hadn’t been quite as busy snapping the wondrous array of birds he’d never seen before.

And would possibly never see again.

Tragically, a reduction in photographic activity wasn’t the only clue as to who wasn’t a very good sailor as we slapped through the swell, spray swirling in all directions. Bracing myself against the side of the boat and Pilchard, I snapped the retreating Pyramid in its ever-changing guises as the rain moved in from the west.

Leaving Balls Pyramid Behind

Rounding Lord Howe Island’s southern end, the monstrous bulk of Mt Gower soared above us. Providence Petrels whirled and spun against the cliffs in the world’s only known breeding grounds as Balls Pyramid disappeared from view.

The extreme upper body workout I’d had from hanging onto the Noctiluca railings to stay upright in the heaving seas and monstrous swell had been tiring.  But I furiously pedalled my bicycle homeward against the wind, in a successful attempt to outrun the rain. Happily, we’d had the foresight to lay in supplies.  As the night closed in and turned to rain and I collapsed, exhausted, onto the lounge.

But unlike skipper Jack, I hadn’t climbed Mt Gower the day before. I still had a LONG way to go!

Want MORE?

• Balls Pyramid, via Lord Howe Island
• Lord Howe Island, New South Wales
• Lord Howe Island Birds
• Sea to Summit Expeditions
• Red Nomad OZ on Lord Howe Island
• More Lord Howe Island Photos on Flickr
• First ascent of Balls Pyramid by Bryden Allen and party

The post Basalt, Birds and Balls Pyramid! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

As Aussie road trips go, the Lions Road NSW isn’t the best known. Or the longest. Or even the most demanding! But this 50 km fully sealed stretch of road linking the Mt Lindesay Highway near Queensland town Beaudesert with the Summerland Way near New South Wales town Kyogle is one of the most scenic, unusual and intriguing stretches of road in Australia.

According to me, anyway.

I’ve travelled the iconic community owned and operated Lions road in July 2014 twice.

Once travelling north from Kyogle, NSW to Rathdowney, Queensland; then later that same day back south to Kyogle. The drive itself doesn’t take long if you’re just trying to get from A to B.

But as a self-drive tour, the Lions Road NSW with its eclectic mix of natural attractions, fascinating history and unusual points of interest is as good a day out as you’ll find almost anywhere!

Here are my TOP 7 reasons why!

1 The History

If you want something done, it’s sometimes quicker to just do it yourself!

After government funding for a road roughly following the interstate railway line through the McPherson ranges fell through in the mid-late 1960s, the Kyogle and Beaudesert Lions clubs joined forces to build a gravel road themselves.

Since its official opening in 1973, the communities raise funds for

maintenance and improvements via a donation box at the Queensland/New South Wales Border, and visitors to the area have the option of a shorter, scenic and more direct route south.

The construction history in the area goes back even further to the railway line – a project employing over 1500 people over four years – with one of Australia’s most historically significant railway engineering feats in Australia, the Spiral Loop.

2 The Spiral Loop

To the casual observer, the photo (below) shows a fairly standard landscape featuring a not-unattractive well-forested hill with an jagged-edged mountain range in the background.

But lurking beneath the contours, pixellations and wooded slopes is one of Australia’s most intriguing feats of railway engineering. To reduce the length of the Main Range tunnel a few kilometres north, trains gain (or lose) 20 metres of altitude by passing through the mountain below the lookout twice, completing a loop. Naturally, given our national penchant for clear naming conventions, the whole structure is known as the ‘Spiral Loop’!

According to the Kyogle Council Visitor Information Guide, Neville Bonner (first Indigenous politician) was the first person to travel from QLD to NSW through the main tunnel. When he was a child, his stepfather worked on the line, and Neville was passed through the hole when the tunnel broke through!

Tragically, the daily passenger train from Brisbane generally passes through the loop and tunnel VERY early in the morning. So rather than risk a dark, frosty drive during our mid-winter stay in Kyogle, we planned a Sunday drive to catch the mid-morning goods train – which we would have done if not for a FLAT TYRE! So I leave you with this photo (above) of a passenger train passing the Kyogle Caravan Park instead!

Just as well a visit to the lookout is interesting in its own right, right?!?! Here’s a list of other things to do there (in no particular order):

a) Admire the Scenic Public Toilet!

b) Watch the birds (feathered)

c) Play ‘Spot the Trainspotter’

d) Walk the Border Loop Track!

3 Border Loop Track

From the Border Loop Lookout, the Border Loop Track is a 1.2 km easy stroll through a stand of wet eucalypt forest before entering the dense rainforest of the Border Ranges.

It’s an insight into the difficulties in constructing a railways roads through thick, tick-infested scrub over rugged and mountainous terrain!

4 The Viaduct

At the junction of the High and Low roads, a few kilometres north of ‘The Risk’ – the locality off the Summerland way where the Lions Road NSW starts just 19 km north-west of Kyogle – the Viaduct towers above Gradys Creek. From here, the Low road follows the railway line more closely before re-joining the High Road a few kilometres north.

But for me, the Viaduct is just another compelling reason (along with the Spiral Loop) to make the trip across the ranges by train one day!

5 New South Wales/ Queensland Border

There are a few good reasons to stop at the border. Here they are, in no particular order:

a) Make a donation. All funds raised from the donation box go to the Kyogle and Beaudesert Councils for maintenance and improvements of the road.

b) Check your rig for runaway rabbits! Because bringing a rabbit across the border into Queensland (that’s what EVERYONE wants to do, right?) will attract a fine of up to $44000.

Who knew?!

c) Admire the scenery (see 1st photo above). It’s REALLY worth it! Especially the view looking from the New South Wales side down the range – and extraordinarily steep road – into Queensland.

d) Take a photo or two, or two hundred. And be grateful I haven’t uploaded ALL the photos I managed to take in the few minutes we stopped at the border gate to Facebook.  There’s plenty – read: ‘more than enough’ – here, right?!

6 Andrew Drynan Park

Across the border, down the road and round the corner – actually, make that LOTS of corners and many crossings of Running Creek – the Andrew Drynan Park with its picnic area and campground is a great place to stop and admire the superb scenery.

And a scenic amenities block is one of the BEST reasons to stop! Or is that just me?!

7 Rathdowney

A turn-off to the left just before the Lions Road meets the Mt Lindesay Highway at Innisplain ends at Rathdowney, where we turned around for the return leg of our Lions Road NSW odyssey.

Gateway to the magnificent ranges of the Scenic Rim, including Mt Lindesay and Mt Barney, the small town of Rathdowney is a great base to explore the Rim’s eastern reaches.

But that’s another story!!

Lions Road: Fast Facts!

Name: Named for the Lions Clubs, not Mt Lion, part-way along the road

Start: The Risk, 19 km north-west of Kyogle on the Summerland Way

End: Innisplain, 24 km south of Beaudesert on the Mt Lindesay Highway

Traffic: Over 100,000 vehicles per annum

Distance: 50 km

Surface: Fully sealed

Restrictions:  Please NOTE that some vehicle height and weight restrictions may apply.  Please check before taking this route if you are towing, or if your vehicle is high.

Age: 40^th anniversary celebrated in 2013

Scenic Public Toilets: Two, one at the Border Loop Lookout; and the other at Andrew Drynan Park

Want MORE?

• The Lions Road
• Kyogle, New South Wales
• Rathdowney, Queensland
• Woodenbong, NSW (just across the border)
• Book:  “The Lions Road” (by Jack (JD) Hurley OAM)

The post 7 Reasons to Road-trip the Lions Road NSW appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Even if I’d been to Woodenbong BEFORE I listed the Aussie place names that WON’T keep you guessing, it never would have made the cut.

Yes, there really IS a town called Woodenbong.

And no, this Northern New South Wales town just south of the Queensland border and ~150 km west of coastal hot spot Byron Bay ISN’T named after a giant wooden bong. Nor did I find anything else in its surrounds to which its unusual name could be attributed.

But I DID find a small town worthy of a TOP Aussie Towns title! Here’s FIVE good reasons why!

1. The Scenery

It’d be hard for Woodenbongians (Woodenbongites? Woodenbongese?? The Woodenbongish???) NOT to brag about their scenic setting.  The town is surrounded by several distinctive rocky crags, the remnants of an ancient shield volcano. Ironically, they’ve all got names like ‘Edinburgh Castle’; ‘Bald Knob’ and ‘South Obelisk’. In fact, Woodenbong could have been named for any of these with no mystery whatsoever!

The scenery doesn’t end at the township.

The nearby eroded volcanic remains, lush rainforests, picturesque waterfalls and spectacular lookouts are worth the drive on the sometimes challenging roads! How did I get that great photo of Mt Lindesay (below)? I took it while Pilchard was changing a flat tyre, of course

A mere $10 (+ $1 for a hot shower) per night will get you a powered site in the community camping area at the sports oval making Woodenbong an ideal base from which to explore the Upper Clarence region, of which this is a part. And who knows? You might be as lucky as we were and get to be there for the school sports day!

2. The Pizza

It’s SO not a tragedy that Woodenbong doesn’t have a bakery when the pizzas from the Woodenbong Hotel (can’t miss it, there’s only one) are THIS good. Oh, so you want a photo?? It’s not going to happen – who thinks about taking photos with a FINE pizza in front of them?

The Pub’s worth a visit in it’s own right. It’s a beauty inside and out, with friendly and welcoming staff, open fires, a lounge room with books and magazines, and an excellent menu. But who am I kidding? If you ever find yourself at the Woodenbong Hotel, you’ll also be right in the hub of the pizza universe so just do yourself a favour and order the pizza!

You’re welcome

3. Australia’s Worst Road?

What was once the Lindesay Highway stretches from Beaudesert up north in Queensland, through Woodenbong, then southwest to Tenterfield. Until it reaches Woodenbong, it’s a pretty good road. From there, it’s a disgraceful collection of potholes, ragged edges, steep drops, rocks, blind corners, narrow passes and undulating surfaces.

As a highway, minimum standards of quality and upkeep are expected. But with a simple re-badging from ‘Mt Lindesay Highway’ to ‘Mt Lindesay Road’ around about Woodenbong, those pesky maintenance fees just melt away like mist in the sun! It’s a shame about the poor beggars who have to risk their lives actually using the road …

So why have I listed it as one of Woodenbong’s attractions? It’s the route to some of the most scenic spots in the region! AND an adventure – if you treat it with the respect it deserves!

4. The Natural Attractions

Just down the road and round the corner on a scenic drive from Woodenbong, Tooloom Falls, complete with picnic area, loos and campground is a great starting point. The 8 metre drop means the cows drinking at the pool below the falls have NO chance of making it upstream! According to one tourist brochure, the name is derived from an Aboriginal word ‘Dooloomi’ – or headlice – so named to deter youngsters from swimming in the dangerous pool!

A little further on is lovely Tooloom National Park with its loop trail through the World Heritage listed Tooloom Scrub and a lookout with magnificent views across the Koreelah Valley. A detour off the scenic drive and remote Koreelah National Park brings you face to face with Australia’s Gondwana Rainforest – and Koreelah Falls.

Drive south through the magnificent flooded gums of the Yabbra State Forest lining the Bonalbo road to another scenic gem – the Bean Creek Falls (see above), part of a network of creeks at the headwaters of the Clarence River.

A shortish drive across the border into Queensland past Mt Lindesay, and the distinctive peaks of World Heritage listed Mt Barney National Park rise against the skyline. Several shorter hikes make this wilderness area accessible, with longer treks recommended for experienced bushwalkers only.

If you’ve had the guts to travel the Mt Lindesay Road, then Queen Mary Falls just over the border with Queensland is a fitting reward – or at least a handy rejuvenation point for the death-defying drive back to Woodenbong! Part of the Border Ranges National Park, there are several falls along the road to Carrs Lookout, a spectacular view across the Condamine Valley.

And that’s just for starters!

5. The Scenic Public Loos

These aren’t the main public amenities in Woodenbong. They’re not even the main conveniences at the sports oval and camping area! But, they’re the most scenic! Especially when set off by an unseasonal black stormy sky erupting into a wild storm and lashing rain, finishing off the school sports day and driving us inside the camper trailer for a fiercely competitive bout of word games until it was over!

Post-rain sunsets really ARE the best!

There’s a lot we haven’t yet seen and done in and around Woodenbong – but that’s OK! I see another visit to this intriguing area in our future …

And the name?  It’s from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘ducks on water’!

Want MORE?

• About the Town
• Upper Clarence Region
• New South Wales

The post Why Woodenbong is a TOP Aussie Town! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Some get to Rawson Pass en route to Mount Kosciuszko for the record.  Others do it for the challenge.  And still others do it just because it’s there.

100 metres or so below the Mt Kosciuszko summit, the Rawson Pass Public Amenities block does a roaring trade. Back in the good old days, being a mountaineer was as easy as taking a short trip in the car.  Back then, ‘climbers’ attempting the summit had to take their chances with the dunny of the great outdoors.

We’d toiled along the undulating 6 km (~3.5 miles) track, gamely fighting off persistent altitude sickness, or was it lack of fitness? We’d been suffering it since alighting from the Kosciuszko Express chairlift, a speedy 600 metre rise in altitude from ski village Thredbo.

Cash-strapped governments regularly threaten to cause irreparable damage to the delicate alpine environment by re-opening the Kosciuszko National Park to pastoral leases.  But apparently the threat posed by the waste from the 100,000 annual mountain climbers has been enough to warrant the purpose built trail ending at the pass.

I guess the toilet cleaner’s job description didn’t involve mountaineering? At least the bunker would double as a shelter in an unexpected snowstorm emergency!

Back at the bunker we took pleasure in doing business as HIGH as possible in an OZ public amenities block.  From there, we looked out from Australia’s HIGHest (and arguably MOST scenic) loo to OZ’s HIGHest peak not so far above. And tried not to think of the 6.5 km walk back to the Kosciuszko Express station!

• Climbing Mt Kosciuszko
• The other HIGH loo that made me a LIAR!
• Kosciuszko National Park
• MORE Mt Kosciuszko Photos on Flickr

The post Rawson Pass: Scenic Public Loo #37 appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Hi There!

Amongst Nimbin’s main street throng of weekend hippy trippers, bong-brain backpackers and Rainbow Region locals I stood out like a tourist.

The specially chosen bright orange chain store T-shirt I’d worn to Australia’s alternative lifestyle capital just didn’t stack up against the psychedelia of wildly experimental natural-dyed organic hand-woven fibres in daring and cutting edge styles.

The locals who stayed on after Nimbin’s 1973 Aquarius Festival and transformed this small dairying community 30 km north of Lismore forever have had a massive head start on me …

But the REAL proof that Nimbin personifies life OFF the grid wasn’t the Rainbow Power Company on Alternative Way; the Hemp Embassy; or the Nimbin Candle Company’s use of medieval monk technology to produce its all-natural product.

It was the artist WAAAAAY younger than me who refused to own a mobile phone!

Later, Red x

Read MORE:

• Nimbin, Northern New South Wales
• Lismore and the Rainbow Region, New South Wales

The post Postcard from … Nimbin, New South Wales! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.